Poultry vaccines

Disease prevention by vaccination is an integral part of flock health management protocols. Active immunization using live vaccines is the current industry standard. Routinely used vaccines in chickens include MDV, NDV, IBV, and IBDV, and in turkeys NDV and HEV. Newer vaccines, including molecular recombinants in which genes of immunogenic proteins from infectious agents are inserted into a live viral vector, are also being examined for commercial use. Efforts are under way to enhance vaccine efficacy by the use of adjuvants, particularly cytokines. The vaccine delivery systems include in ovo injection, aerosol, spray, drinking water, eye drop, and wing web injection. The in ovo vaccination procedure is relatively new and at the present time it is used primarily to vaccinate broiler chickens against MDV. Birds respond to vaccines by developing humoral and cellular immune responses. There are two main types of vaccine available for poultry: live or killed.